Sight/Geist: Film & Performance Open Call for Emerging NYC Artists is sponsored by Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation. Supports emerging New York City-based film and performance artists with exhibition opportunities at The 8th Floor gallery.

Sight/Geist: Film & Performance Open Call for Emerging NYC Artists — Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation Film & Performance Open Call for Emerging NYC Artists Submissions open June 1 – July 5, 2026 Marcelline Mandeng Nken , Rush Hour , March 20, 2025, at The 8th Floor, New York.

Photo by Charles Roussel The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation is excited to announce an open call for the seventh season of Sight/Geist, a series that supports emerging NYC-based film and performance artists. Submissions will be accepted here from June 1 through July 5, 2026 for 2026/27 programming at The 8th Floor, the Foundation’s gallery near Union Square.

General eligibility and guidelines: One submission per artist, duo, or collective is welcome. The primary applicant must be at least 18 years old, maintain their primary residence in New York City, and self-identify as an “emerging” artist (including early-career, self-trained, newly graduated, and those currently enrolled in undergraduate/graduate programs).

This series supports artists who primarily work in contemporary art and moving-image practices (though may also exist in dance, music, or theater contexts). Applicants can review recent film and performance programming at The 8th Floor here and here . Submissions should have experimental and/or pedagogical approach to the Foundation’s mission of art and social justice.

The Foundation provides curatorial, administrative, and promotional support to Sight/Geist artists, as well as documentation for performances and discussions. New and existing pieces can be considered; however, priority will be given to works without NYC presentations in the last three years. The primary applicant must be able to submit an invoice and US tax form to receive payment.

Our standard artist fees are $300 for a group screening, $500 for a solo screening, and $750 for a solo performance (with $250 for production costs). These fees are fixed and would need to be shared among duos/collectives. All selected artists will be invited to engage in a discussion and Q&A on their broader practices as part of their respective programs.

Further guidelines on “single-channel screening” category: This category is for works of experimental and non-commercial cinema, video art, or performance documentation intended for presentation as a single-channel, non-looped large projection with a 2. 1 PA speaker system. Screening files must be H.

264 or ProRes. All works under 80 minutes will be reviewed, with priority given to those under 20 minutes. We are eager to receive film submissions that expand into live lecture-performance and other formal interventions, but such works should be submitted in the other category.

Further guidelines on “performance and expanded forms” category: Submissions in this category should be 20-50 minutes long, and might foreground duration, movement, audiovisual media, voice, site specificity, and audience participation, among other considerations. Conceptual and political proposals are encouraged, but this initiative is not designed to support community-based or social practice works.

Separate from a $750 artist fee, the $250 for reimbursable production costs might include collaborators, materials, transportation, rehearsal, and specific AV/lighting equipment beyond the gallery’s regular inventory.

Pieces with minor installation elements will be considered; however, it is essential that such proposals are in accordance with the scale of The 8th Floor space, with high sensitivity to the artworks in the exhibition on view at the same time. Using wall space, hanging objects, liquids, flames, and exaggerated movements that may endanger the installed works are prohibited.

A floorplan can be found here and a virtual gallery here – events usually take place in the gallery’s south end. Selected artists will be able to schedule a time to spec out the space and, if needed, a light rehearsal before their program date. All setup/breakdown must take place on the day of the program.

Does my film submission have to have a significant performance element/theme, or does my performance have to have a film/video element? No. We are not expecting most submissions to involve both film and expanded/performative dimensions. Can I still apply if I live slightly beyond the official borders of New York City?

If you do not have a permanent address within NYC but currently spend most of your artistic, professional, and social life here, you are welcome to submit. Submissions will be accepted starting June 1 and are due by 11pm ET on July 5, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their status by late August 2026.

All questions should be directed to info@the8thfloor. org .